The Ride Through Isla de Pascua

Easter Island is amazing! Coming here seriously revived my love for tropical island life and how much I miss it. My heart is still in the mountains, but there's a great draw to the way of life on an island. Things are very laid back, you can wander around all day in nothing but your shorts, and the beautiful jungle provides the best fruit and vegetables a person can buy. 

I managed to find a pretty decent place to stay; a "dorm" room with two beds, shared with a pretty cool French guy named Anthony. The owner is pretty cool, and he has two really nice dogs that have giant hearts. Yesterday Anthony and I headed out and watched the sunset at a popular spot in town, downing a few beers in the process. This town dies down pretty early during the week, so by 11pm bed is the best option.

Today I booked a couple dives for tomorrow, which is supposed to be the calmest day available for me. Today was overcast and a little windy, so hopefully the visibility is ok for my dives. After that I sorted out a scooter with my guest house owner, and ripped out to Anakena beach for a swim and to check out some Moia, the big statues that populate the island. The whole island is basically a giant open air museum, with ruins scattered throughout, all available to walk around provided you pay the hefty park fee of $60. The Moia themselves are very impressive, it's mind boggling how they were carved and then moved to the coast, due to the sheer size of them. Some must weigh almost five tons, by my guess. 

The roads around the island should go down in the books of great motorcycle rides. Save for one small gravel stretch, it's a nicely paved, windy route through the middle of the island, then snaking along the coast, nearly free of any traffic. The road passes amazing coastal scenery, and of course past ancient ruin sites nearly every mile. Truly a great ride.